The invention is generally directed to a saw horse for use in construction and carpentry activities and in particular to a self-leveling and folding saw horse which is easily transportable in a folded position.
Saw horses are well known in the art for supporting work pieces of wood, metal, and other construction materials at a convenient height for working. Generally, two saw horses are used in unison to support a material between the two saw horses.
A saw horse generally includes a transverse member known as a cross bar or trestle which is supported by four legs attached to the corners of the cross bar. Traditional saw horses are large, heavy, bulky, and difficult to transport. In addition, they suffer from the need to be placed upon a flat surface to ensure the stability of the saw horses so that the material placed on the saw horse does not move while being worked on.
There have been various approaches to the composition of a folding or at least partially folding saw horse. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,951,233; 4,030,565; 4,152,834; 4,403,678; 4,325,463; 4,605,099; 4,640,386; 4,711,319; and 4,771,863, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Conventional saw horses are inconvenient and bulky to transport from working site to working site. The conventional saw horses are more appropriate in a fixed work shop, particularly one with a perfectly flat surface. Where the floor or ground is not level, the conventional saw horse with its fixed geometry tends to have at least one of the legs not touching the surface, thus creating an unstable and rocking support which is not conducive to the stable support intended to be provided by the saw horse. Collapsible or foldable saw horses of the various types described above and known in the prior art, were developed to aid in the movement of saw horses from work site to work site. However, many work sites do not have level surfaces and the saw horses do not provide a reliable, stable support surface for the work materials placed on them.
Accordingly, there is a need for a portable saw horse which will provide a stable, level support on a variety of level, near-level, and uneven surfaces.